Monday 14 December 2015

First spare room reno - Granny B chalk paint

So it has been a couple of month since I wrote my last blog but like you will see I have been very busy!

I started with the front spare bedroom and this is what it used
to look like.


All the before pictures of the room




Not really any WOW factors in the room apart for the bay window and the origin pine door and door frame.
I am not a lover of parquet flooring so it was the first thing to go...........
All done and dusted!!! 85 years dust and sand trapped under the floor blocks! So much DUST!!!

Done over a period of 2 days, my back was killing me after this but I was so happy that it was finally done, so we could start with the tiling of the floor.

I am still using the same tile as the other 3 rooms as I just love these tiles.

Scrapwood from Kilimanjaro

Done and dusted!!! Jippy......... now I can start with the grouting. I had the help of Andries with the tiling but when it comes
 to the grouting they know to leave me alone :)

Right from day 1 I has a vision that this room should be "beach inspired", even though hubby did not understand what
 I was meaning. This happens often that I can see a picture in my mind and know exactly what it should look like  and he
 has not a clue what I am talking about.


So next it was to decide on the colors of the room. I did not want to go BLUE because the TV room was done in blue's
and grey so my favorite tool is Pintrest and I searched until I came across #Seeds post and immediately I knew I wanted
 these colors in the room. I decide on #duluxcoloursoftheworld - Kenya range for the room. The rich Kenya and the
 Gentle Kenya for the walls.

This focus wall I painted with the Rich Kenya, it kinda glows when the sun hits it........ just like the sun on rocks
 on the beach.

Then for all the other walls I decide the Gentle Kenya as it looks like beach sand, and slowly the picture starting
 to take shape.

Now as for the furniture I wanted to use in the room. It has been hubby's bedroom suite when he was a bachelor
 ( very IN those years)  but not today so I decide it just have to be painted and in the beginning of the year
I discover an amazing  NEW chalk brand in South Africa called : Granny B Old Fashioned Paint. This is a small
company that has only started in South Africa in February 2015 but let me tell you their chalk paint is top
quality and there service is fantastic!! I started of by sending then a Facebook message telling them about my
renovation of the Sandstone house and the owner almost replied to my message immediately and that is where
my relationship with Granny B Old Fashioned Paint started.

If you live in South Africa and like me like to support local business then have a look on their website at the
range of colors and products: www.grannyb.co.za





So I decided to use Granny B Dovegrey and daisy on the bedroom suite with a kinda chippy effect as it would
 suite the Beach theme.


The original desk was made from old logs and it was not what I wanted so I painted first with Dove Grey
 from Granny B - First coat just plain painting, second coat I slapped the paint on to create texture.
Then I used Granny B daisy and painted it all over the dove Grey, once dried I sanded it down and then sealed 
with Granny B wax. 

How to apply the wax: You use a kitchen sponge, one of those with the scrubbie on top and yellow sponge
 at the bottom. Wet the sponge and squeeze all the water out so it is just damp. Dip into your wax and
 apply to your project. Leave for 8 hours to cure and finish! No buffing needed. It dries to a matt finish 
which I just love! 

Dressing table, chair and mirror completed! Happy smiles :)))))

Here is the before of the dressing table chair, made from chip board and covered in
 red faux leather.
 I did used the same effect on the wooden parts as what I did on the dressing table and then decided to bring a bit
 of fun onto the seat part.
How to do shadow stenciling:

First I used daisy and painted over the faux leather with it, then I used one of Granny B stencils to create the sea shells.

 Choose the color of your choice, I decided to go with Granny B Icicle for the base color of the stencils.
 When it was dry I moved the stencils slightly to the left as I wanted to create a shadow
 and then I applied Granny B Bubblegum which is much lighter than the Icicle.
 Lift up the stencil and woop woop!!!

Once I was happy with the seat I left to dry overnight and the next day I also sealed it with Granny B wax.


Next it was the beds turn......... (note to self: NEVER paint something round ever AGAIN) It was a huge job as 
every inch of the poles needed to be painted, very happy when I was done with the bed :)

Watch this space to see the completed room...............

Happy painting everyone :)












                                     














Thursday 16 April 2015

Main bedroom - Bedside cupboards painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint and transfers used from Walibri Art Glass.

These 2 old cupboards has been in Moms house forever and I really love the look of them but felt they are in need of a make over to suit the main bedroom style. The colors of  Annie Sloan chalk paint that I have decided to use in the main bedroom is: Old white, French Linen and Henrietta ( I love pink) but I don't want a lot of the color in the room as I think my hubby would not be so pleased with me.

 The side tables are made from just some sort of ply wood, nothing great but I knew I could turn it into something awesome!

So I grab my paint brush and started painting - First I did the French Linen on all the side borders of the cupboard and while I was waiting for it to dry I let my imagination run....... I did not want it JUST painted, I wanted it to make a statement.

 I found these polymer rose I bought some time ago and painted them with the Henrietta and waxed them...... and then I knew exactly what these cupboards should look like.

At my business (Walibri Art Glass) we do a range of image transfers and I once got this image from the Graphics Fairy that looks like an old french letter. So I printed the image on out transfer papers and let it dry as for now the paint was dry on the cupboard and I could continue to paint the Old white on the front of the door, sides of the cupboard and decided to also paint a block in the middle on the top.
 Once all the paint was dry I then waxed it with Annie Sloan clear and dark wax first before I applied the transfer. Why? Well the transfer is see through and I wanted the vintage look that the wax gave me to shine through it. How do you apply the transfer? Easy very easy!!! Our transfers you cut out, let it lie in luke warm water for a while en then it just slide of the backing paper. You can apply it to any smooth surface. Once the transfer was applied on the front of the door and all the bubbles gently wiped out underneath it I then sealed it with some Modge Podge. It still looked kinda bland so I did another transfer with roses on....... problem ..... the roses was orange!! I grabbed the Henrietta and painted the roses pink!!! I then stuck the polymere roses on top and added the hardware.


What can I say.......... I totally LOVE the bedside cupboards!!!
Thanks to Annie Sloan paint and Walibri's transfers the bed side cupboards have now got a new life.

Drop me a mail if you would like to get your hands on some of these transfers. 

Next I will be doing a blog on those nasty brown build in cupboards in the main bedroom. Till then keep smiling and keep those paint brushes moving!!!

Thanks to Annie Sloan up cycling a piece of furniture has never been easier.

Main bedroom - Floor tiles called Scrapwood

What a task........ 2 people with 2 different ideas on what the tiles should look like. First our choice was a stunning wood look like tile from  #CTM  BUT........ the price did not suit our budget. So after months of debating on which tile to get and searching for hours on end on the internet we took a trip to our local CTM.

All we know is that we wanted a A grade tile as this was going to be the house we are going to grow old in and we did not want to re tile in a couple of years down the line.

Lucky for us our builder could also lie the tiles but if was up to me to do the grouting myself. Being a glass artist who has done many mosaic pieces in my life time and being very fussy with grouting work I took the task on with a smile.

The tiles we decides on was brand new on the market and we fell in love with it the minute we saw it. Looked like old worn wood but it is a ceramic tile........ easy to clean and maintain.

 The tile is called "Scrapwood" in the Kilimanjaro range.

 Don't you just love the look of the tiles as well???

All done and installed - grouting done and I must admit we both love the look!!!

After all of this grouting I really need a break from sitting on my bum on a floor so I will be painting our bedside cupboards with #AnnieSloan chalk paint.  




Main bedroom - Using Annie Sloan Chalk paints on my wall lights.

So why did I decide to use chalk paint on my projects?

Well after reading up about the chalk paint I was firstly very curious, does it really work and can you apply it on just about anything?  Follow my blog to see the outcome of all the different chalk paints that I will be using.

First I decided that we wanted some lantern wall lights for the Main bedroom. Something shabby but chic and I did not want to pay a fortune for it. So we went of shopping and found the perfect lights at Mica Solomons in Bethlehem but not so perfect after all. They where plain and white and kinda boring!!! I paid only R 169.00 per light.



I had a picture in my head and starting playing with my idea. 

First I took cheap lace that I found in my cupboard and cutting it to size with just a little over lapping on each side.

Then I used a craft glue to stick it down.

Like you will notice some of the lace was different colors which did not really matter as I was still going to paint it.

I used the same lace on the back piece that was going to be attached to the wall socket.

After the lace was dried I painted it with Annie Sloan Old white. I painted it 2 coats as I wanted the paint to get right into the lace. Then I left it over night to dry and the next day I used Annie Sloan clear wax and dark wax on it. 

And then I added a couple of bling blings for a little bit of sparkle.
I am over the moon with the results and cannot wait for the light to be installed.

My opinion about the Annie Sloan paint I used:

LOVED it! Worked so easy and the fact that you can thin the paint down and mix it with other colors really works for me.